Union Bank’s Transformation Based on ‘CARE’
If you are rated 9th out of 100 best companies to work for in Nigeria, you would have cause to jubilate and even shout from the roof top, more so, if the rating was done independently by an umpire whose expertise in matters relative to rating is unarguably indisputable. This is exactly what Mr. Miyen Swomen, Head, Human Resources at Union Bank, basking in euphoria is doing, telling anybody who cares to listen that Union Bank has earned its stripes because the feat did not come easy. Rather, it was a planned and strategic effort aimed at attaining high standard in service delivery to stay ahead of the pack.
In an ecstatic mood he said “I am really pleased that we are the 9th most attractive place for people to work. It hasn’t been an easy feat but it has been an exciting journey as it were. Union Bank has built an opened and innovative culture. These are the things that attract people to us and define the way we work. Our culture is based on the acronym CARE”.
According to Swoman, the employees built the culture by taking initiatives which they as well drive to success, adding that the bank’s operations are deeply rooted in its CARE philosophy. “We are CUSTOMER focused because nothing happens in the market without the customer; the customer is the foundation of what we are. We are ACCOUNTABLE for the decisions that we make. E is for also EXCELLENCE. We are delivering efficient and excellent services to our customers. We also treat our customers and ourselves with RESPECT. Respect is very important; it is one of the traits you will find among the leadership, especially in our CEO. We are driving that and we are ensuring that our employees respect their customers, respect the environment and respect the business”, he said.
In getting to the current level it has attained vis a vis the perception generally held that the bank is conservative and old fashioned in its operations, Swomen says it is in recognition of this negative belief that the bank now is high on efficiency, saying, “We have highly efficient staff that we are proud of. We are proud of these values because in everything that we do, it shapes what we are and the business that we drive. It is also what makes us attractive to customers. That we are 100 years old, speaks volumes of what we are capable of doing. We are 100 years old comes with a lot of experience, so we are everything, passionately everything to our customers that have been with us for 100 years and for the new young customers that are joining us”.
The above notwithstanding, the bank embarked on a 360 degrees transformation, which focused on hiring talents and the adoption of new technologies that enabled innovativeness in its operations. The transformation was difficult as well as exciting because of perception and primordial beliefs about the bank. Swomen said even people did not want to hear anything about Union Bank, not to talk of being employees , adding that it was a challenge which rather birthed a strategy that helped the bank. So, what did the bank do? “We look for the people who simply value an opportunity to do something different; this is why we are where we are today. We made careful choices about the people with the energy, the commitment and the drive to drive this business and take it to where we want. More importantly, we wanted people who were passionate about their own success; so it is about personal success as well as organisational success. People who wanted to do something differently and are sure to earn the success that they have from us. So, it is human resource transformation that has taken us to where we are today. Our success has been powered by the talents that we have based on the foundational principles of their own desire for success and change, itself. That is how we have gotten to where we are”, Swomen answered.
These talents, who are excited about their own success, continue to see opportunities to drive the bank’s success forward because they have the opportunity to improve on their competencies and level of delivery. “They are continuously training themselves. We have given them the tools; we have spent a lot of money on training in developing them; we are also exposing them to creative ways of managing themselves and the people that work with them”, says the Head, Human Resources.
Union Bank is aware that in every organisation there is need for career or opportunity management. As diverse as the members of the organization are, so also are their diverse needs. No organisation singlehandedly is able to meet the needs of everyone. However, the bank as much as possible allows employees to express themselves, as well as express their opinions about what they want to do. When found necessary and available such needs are answered.
According to Swomen, “For a bank in transformation, there is always an opportunity because there is always a lot of work to do. There is always opportunities on how we serve our customers faster and better, opportunities in how we do things around our valued initiatives, accountability and efficacy; and opportunities in how we apply respect in serving our customers. All these opportunities have been provided. So, we work together and get the same kind of training and the opportunities are open to everybody.
“There are some colleagues, who support us from different companies, we also extend opportunities to them and they form a versatile and verifiable pool for the bank. So, every workforce has a career path and opportunities that workers can move into. If I can do IT today, I will be working in the IT department and they will give me resources and opportunities just as in sales, which in a difficult market sometimes has its opportunities”.
The ability of an organization to create an ambience in which the worker works efficiently without discomfort while at the same time he lives life pleasurably speaks volumes about the importance the organization attaches to work life balance. In Union Bank the opportunity exists as there is the general notion that there is a passion around work and there is passion to life. These two things are essentially separate; you must never work every time and you must find a time to live. So, it is not really about hours, it is about productivity and what really makes one happy. Thus, in terms of work life balance, the bank provides employees the environment that enables them to work using technologies and all the innovative ways to assist them through channels and others to ensure they deliver efficient services.
“The essential thing is for all employees to make sure that they are excited about the work that they do and do it well and make sure they spend the time excitingly doing things that make them happy in life. When you get that mix together right, it is no longer about the hours you put in because you are having fun. That is how we will continue to look at issues for our employees around the different things that make them happy and more productive.
About the award itself, Swomen gave Jobberman the plaudit for doing a good job as an independent umpire, saying, “It pleases me in no small measure to see the works that they have been doing. I found the report to be credible. I had no participation in it; rather, it was done independently. Independent surveys are often times credible, because, for instance, in our case they involved our employees, our potential employees, our ex-employees and other stakeholders before arriving at their conclusion. Jobberman should keep it up; it is a product I will like to see succeed in the market place”.
Swomen enthused that the award for being ninth on the log of 100 best companies to work for in Nigeria is an encouragement to do more and that Union Bank will not only relent in its drive for more awards but also will rely heavily on its values for successes in the years ahead.
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